CyberWorld

Chapter Six: Actuation

"Why didn't you tell him there was another deck below him?"

"I wanted to test the Skill's response to emotion. Passion, specifically. I couldn't have done that without a significant release of emotion."

"No, no, no. I told you to fight him on the ground, remember? So he wouldn't plummet to death on his first day?"

"He couldn't concentrate with dozens of faces staring out of their tents." Suki said, trying to ignore her mouth drying out with each word. "We have yet to prove all our members are loyal to this organisation only."

Aiko heaved a sign and performed a cat stretch as she leaned forward on the table, shifting her arms until she felt a relief sweep across her lower back.

"At this rate, we might have to convince him to stay."

"Please don't tell me you mean what I think you do."

"You know I could do it." This time, Aiko looked as sanguine as Suki usually did.

"Your—practices—or methods, whatever you call them? They won't fly here. I won' t allow it."

"What? Not like that, idiot," Aiko said. "Do you really think I'd be that shallow?"

"We can't afford to be reckless like our AVAIL days," Suki said. "We need to think long-term."

"And you need a drink." Aiko popped the tab of a beer can. "Unless you plan on dying of thirst, I suggest you take a sip."

"We can't afford to be reckless like our AVAIL days," Suki said. "We need to think long-term."

"And you need a drink." Aiko popped the tab of a beer can. "Unless you plan on dying of thirst, I suggest you take a sip."

"I'm not drinking it," Suki shook her head, cringing as the liquor's smell overpowered the break room. "I'd rather drink from the lake at Lekisha."

"A lake that the Apostles currently control, by the way," Aiko said. "Do you want to kill us both?"

"We'll still die once we run out of water."

"What about you?" Aiko said, offering the cup to the man sitting in a lone chair tucked away in the corner, his face shrouded by the poor lighting. He, too, shook his head.

"Hmph. More for me, I guess." Suki eyed Aiko as she guzzled down her drink and let out a burp. "Thank the Animaens we did that collaboration with Asahi."

Suki watched as Han-woo leaned forward, the glossy dark blue armour around his chest and waist shifting as his burly frame came into the light. Tokoshima watched the C.R.D badge on his chest as it caught the light from the dirtied fluorescent lights. Sure, she knew Han-woo was as good as his word, but she couldn't help but feel like the man didn't mind showing off the gleaming chest crest just to make a point.

"To be fair," He said. "You can't just slap a couple of AKs onto a group of teenagers and call it a day." He rested his shoulder pads on his knees as he slumped forward. "Trust me, Yoona has proven that much."

Suki took one look at Aiko guzzling down her drink, then at Han-woo slouching on the chair, now resting his elbows on the silver table in the centre of the room.

She knew she was in for a long discussion.

"Yes, but we don't have time to pander to the whims of a teenager," Suki said. "We need to get him prepared so we all don't die of thirst."

"By scaring his socks off?" Aiko gulped down the last drops of liquor and slammed the glass on the table's glossy surface. "What happens if he bails on us? Or joins the Apostles?"